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Topic Review (Newest First)

12-06-2006, 05:04 AM

Mat W.

Re: one quart every 4k miles, commuting, 22mpg

I'm using about 1 quart of oil every 4000 miles or so, mostly commuting on the freeway, getting around 22 mpg in my 2003 530i.

I plan to have the 60K inspection done soon, and will ask them to look for oil leaks.

11-29-2004, 12:05 AM

armand

Re: some oil use is normal, and will depend on driving

My experience is: hard driving = approx 1/2 quart in 1,000 miles, easier driving = 0 consumption. My '00 was made 7/00 and the oil recommended is 5w30 synthetic. I believe there were some changes that allowed the lighter oil grade. Possibly the rings. Maybe be the cause for excessive oil. I know of another 2000 yr car that uses 1qt every 800 miles but the car is driven very hard all the time.

11-28-2004, 10:51 AM

Talat

Re: Low on oil... Cause for Concern? - Update

I took in the the car (MY 2000 M5/67,000km) for service about four weeks ago. A lot of regular "major service" work was done incl. replacement of front and rear disc pads and rotors, new cam sensor, new power-steering pipes etc. The car is running well. But I have noticed that the oil consumption has dropped significanly. The car used to consume 1 litre of oil per 3,000km but the oil level has hardly dropped over the last 2,000km. Can it be that fresh oil in the engine means lower consumption? What else can it be?

11-22-2004, 09:14 PM

SJDennis

Re: '00 models are notorious for oil consumption (m)

I recently bought an '00 M5 (produced 10/99) and went to the dealer to buy a couple of quarts of the liquid gold (10w60), to "be prepared". What I've found after driving the car for over 3,000 miles is that the oil usage is not a problem. I have noticed a very slight drop on the dip stick, but it is hardly noticable. So I would conclude that not all early M5's use oil.

11-15-2004, 06:42 PM

Philip

Re: Burning 1L Oil /1000 mi. & smells burning

Sounds like you have an oil leak. Have it looked at. Or get the car up and look for yourself. You may have to remove the plastic shield. I did, and found a small valve cover leak (no smells yet).

11-14-2004, 03:52 AM

Keith

Re: Burning 1L Oil /1000 mi. & smells burning

Had my '00 M5 (12/99 production) since 3/03, burns 1 liter of 10W60 every 1,000 miles, not driving aggressively at all. 40K miles. Couple times a month I smell burning oil inside the cabin ~3 minutes after cold start. No blue smoke, I'm guessing it depends on which direction the wind is blowing to get into air vents. Anyone else smell burning oil inside cabin?

10-20-2004, 12:52 AM

Beyond

No Problem

I suck down a litre every 800 miles when I am driving it really hard (alpine to the limit driving) and around every 2000 miles when driving it easy.

10-07-2004, 04:34 PM

Philip

Re: You are completely wrong.

There is no statement from BMW as to why the rings were changed. My guess is that it was necessary in order to use the newer oil (which BMW later backed away from requiring). All M5s use oil, some very little (like my 11/99 build), and some use a lot (even 2003 models). The ring change appears to do nothing for oil ussage. It could actually be the case that the ring update with the new oil is worse for the engine, and that's why BMW went back to recommending the ealier 10w-60 oil. Nobody knows.

One could make the argument that the ring seating is too tight if the car is NOT using enough oil, and result in a lower hp rating. Only BMW knows, and they are not saying anything.

10-07-2004, 01:31 PM

baf3472

Re: You are completely wrong.

My 10/99 build burns about 1 quart every 1500 stop and go miles. My friends 03/02 buils burns about 1 quart every 1500 highway miles. The rings fix was supposed to fix the oil burning issue but like all high performance engines, its gonna burn oil no matter what you do.

10-06-2004, 06:49 PM

bestat

one quart every 2k miles, commuting, 17mpg

10-05-2004, 05:42 PM

Philip

You are completely wrong.

10-05-2004, 01:33 PM

mike

my 6/00 production car uses no oil over a 5k mile

The only oil use i seem to get is when I go to the track, and then it's maybe 1/3 - 1/2 Liter. Typically, i change my oil every 4-5k, usually just before a track event, and i've not needed to add any.
Mike

10-05-2004, 12:23 PM

Talat Hameed

Re: Low on oil... Cause for Concern?

My 08/2000 is consuming 1 litre per 3000km. It has 66,000km on the clock. I have also tried to track the time it takes about 1 litre to burn as I mostly do city/expressway driving averaging 41km/hr. It is about 70 hrs per litre. I am using 10w/60w Castrol.

Early '00 models had a bad oil consumption problem which BMW tried to fix by changing the rings later in the production year. It's possible your M5 could be one of those. But as Mike suggested, it also depends on driving style etc.,

I know someone who bought one of the first M5's back in late 1999, and he had a major problem with oil consumption. His dealer installed the newer rings which fixed the problem. He currently has over 70K miles on this car, and she is still running great.